THE Costume Institute gala honoring fashion models at the Metropolitan Museum tonight is a sold-out success, even at $7,500 per ticket, but the holy trinity of supermodels — Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington — will be conspicuously absent.

There were two theories for their no-shows: They no longer like each other and don’t want to have to pose together for photos, or they’re upset they weren’t chosen to co-chair the event while younger Kate Moss (pictured, opposite page) was.

Turlington, the only one we could reach, said, “I would have been there with absolute pleasure, but I am out of the country filming a documentary about maternal health. I have regularly attended this event . . . and would have loved to have been there this year, especially because Kate was hosting.”

The photographer who made the troika of beauties household names, Steven Meisel, will also skip the party. Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, who runs the annual fund-raiser, seemed to know that famously reclusive Meisel would be a no-show when she wrote her “Letter From the Editor” in the May issue, in which he’s profiled.

“I have only one regret about Steven. Years ago, he used to go out, have fun and sparkle at night,” Wintour wrote. “The more successful he has become, the more he has sequestered himself; and it’s sad . . . he’s such an inspiration, and he’s missed.”

Big-name designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaia, and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are also staying home, possibly because Marc Jacobs has already commandeered the event by buying up at least two tables and by dressing Moss, Madonna and Kerry Washington.

With tables from $75,000 to $250,000, there was buzz that the recession was a factor in some corporate decisions. But the gala is sold out, and nearly 100 top models are expected. So, in the end, this will be the best-looking museum gala of all time, and that’s all that really counts, right?